Learning, Community and Identity in Digital Spaces

In this work we describe and analyze an experiment based in a programme of permanent seminarse-DCET organized with the objective of developing practices of collaborative work inside the Departamento de Ciências Exactas e Tecnológicas (Universidade Aberta-Portugal), valuing the active sharing of pedagogic practices and knowledge at a variety of levels. Various themes were discussed and analyzed, among them we highlighted some experiences of online teaching in formal and non-formal contexts, user management in Moodle LMS, news from international e-learning meetings, visual representations and teaching chemistry online, pseudo-code as a communication language using Notetab and interactive materials in teaching mathematics.

The collaboration does not always require an horizontal political structure. It is often thought that the collaboration is done by everyone in equal measure. This is not necessarily true.

2015

This dissemination paper intends to reflect upon a group experience during a two week Intensive Programme (IP) "Virtual mobility and Learning", that brough together six Ph.D students from five different contries. It took place in Kaunas, at the Vytautas Magnus University, from June 16 th until June 29 th 2013 and the theme was "Virtual Mobility and Learning". The group decided to work on the thematic of Collaborative Work (CW), by designing a course for virtual environment therefore one of the main tasks of the IP was designing a course in a virtual environment. Regarding the topic chosen by each person, this group ended up working on CW. This case study concerns a work group composed of six Ph.D students coming from Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Lithuania, who worked on the topic of Collaborative Work (CW). We met in Kaunas, Lithuania, for this Erasmus Intensive Programme (IP) in Virtual Mobility and Learning, objectively to work in course designing for virtual mobility learning.

2009

This paper is based on a course run in the fall semester 2008 with students from Sweden and USA where they addressed an open problem in the health sector. Part of the course for the students has been to review how the collaboration actually worked and with special attention to the collaboration platform used. The background to the course and process of choosing the collaborative platform, ClockingIT, is presented. The students' review was informed by engineering education research in order to understand the role of the technology used in their collaboration. The methods adopted by the students are outlined including their application of the Collaborative Technology Fit framework as introduced in the thesis by Clear. The role of 'ClockingIT', its effectiveness in supporting collaboration and the effectiveness of 'students as researchers' as a method for insightful reflection are presented.

Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE) 2012, 2012

While much has been written about collaboration in higher education, very little of it focuses on collaboration across educational institutions. This paper describes the experience of a project to share courses between two Australian institutions using a blended online and face-to-face course design. We discuss models that have emerged in the process. It was found that collaboration is most fruitful, in terms of student learning and course development and delivery, when the course coordinators in the two universities are peers who have comparable gravitas and breadth and depth of knowledge. It was also found that there are preconditions to the success of a two-university collaboration, and that establishing these preconditions takes a considerable amount of time Abstract-While much has been written about collaboration in higher education, very little of it focuses on collaboration across educational institutions. This paper describes the experience of a project to share courses between two Australian institutions using a blended online and face-to-face course design. We discuss models that have emerged in the process. It was found that collaboration is most fruitful, in terms of student learning and course development and delivery, when the course coordinators in the two universities are peers who have comparable gravitas and breadth and depth of knowledge. It was also found that there are preconditions to the success of a two-university collaboration, and that establishing these preconditions takes a considerable amount of time.

Proceedings of the 20th International Academic Mindtrek Conference on - AcademicMindtrek '16, 2016

co_LAB is the Collaboration Laboratory, an interdisciplinary research network initiated by colleagues from the University of Lincoln School of Film and Media, to explore new approaches to teaching and learning through the use of networked digital tools, and through the transferral of knowledge, skillsets and teaching styles. The aim is to develop interdisciplinary and collaborative methods for innovation and social entrepreneurship, resulting in a variety of institutional and community impacts. In addition to undertaking a variety of practice-based research projects across the University and local community, co_LAB has developed a substantial European network of partner universities, departments and practitioners. This network has resulted in collaboration on externally-funded projects and international strategic alliances to enable the sharing of pedagogical practice, and to enhance student mobility. The co_LAB team is currently halfway through OnCreate-a 3-year EU Erasmus funded project featuring a European consortium of 10 universities. The co_LAB model is designed to break down classroom walls and departmental divisions by encouraging community-based learning and sharing between students and colleagues from different academic disciplines. This model is underpinned by the principles of the University of Lincoln's Student-as-Producer concept. The model employs a blend of structured activities and discovery-based learning methods, with much of the workshops left open for students to develop concepts, lead sessions, present ideas and receive feedback from lecturers and other participants.

Proceedings of the 17th LACCEI International Multi-Conference for Engineering, Education, and Technology: “Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities and Communities”, 2019

Mechanical engineering, a program that has existed for more than 50 years at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, has undergone adjustments in accordance with the dynamics of the institution over time. It is a leader in the country in the training of mechanical engineers, who contribute solutions to meet the needs of society. The program has strengthened its research and training capacity in recent years, supported by funding programs and support to improve the laboratories, research groups and departments offered by the university and the faculty. In engineering education, the program must develop professional skills, including applying engineering knowledge; designing and conducting experiments; identifying, formulating and solving engineering problems; recognizing contemporary problems; and using modern techniques and tools for the practice of engineering. The application of information and communications technology (ICT), problem-based learning (PBL), and concurrent engineering (CE) tools plays a critical role in allowing students to understand the professional roles in the industry. The Industrial 4.0 technology is an example of a system that is integral in helping learners relate better to events taking place in the real world. Similarly, teaching and learning methodologies must integrate platforms that promote professionalism, allowing learners to connect with the future. In this research, we propose to study and answer the research question: from the students' perspective, to what extent a PBL approach, including concurrent engineering methodologies and ICT tools in a manufacturing processes course, contributes to bridging the gap between technical and professional or interpersonal skills. We focus on the impact of collaborative learning as a useful tool to achieve the development of a project based on learning competencies through the use of ICT tools and work methodologies as concurrent engineering. Finally, We emphasize the digitalization process as a way to help students interact and exchange knowledge, which fosters a sense of community.

Time loops in a cycle without regard to a beginning or end. The cycle loops in time, in order to complete one full rotation, perhaps forever. The rotation dreams of being an eclipse, but no matter how it is stretched will always be a circle or ellipsis. This cyclical time is archaic in origin, yet is eternal. To live in a constant state of déjà vu is best left up to the imagination and to the philosophers of time and space. As I try to channel my inner Einstein, it becomes clear that time and space is a complex subject matter for an exhibition. Even the way one is taught how to write an essay is linear, not cyclical. Without a linear thesis, this essay might loop to an unknown territory void of a fixed point and seem more like the writings of Italo Calvino. What binds the print-based projects of the exhibition Cyclic are the modes of collaboration with respect to investigations and abstractions of time and space and the dichotomy of static and fixed movements.

The promise of globally networked computers to usher in a new age of universal learning and of the sharing of human knowledge remains a distant dream; the software and social practices needed have yet to be designed and adopted. To support online collaborative learning, working and acting, our technology and culture have to be re-configured to meet a complex set of constraints. Above all, this requires understanding how digital technology can mediate human collaboration. The following collection of essays documents one path of ...

The aim of the CREANOVA project is to undertake research on specific conditions and factors which are present in creative learning environments and promote innovation. The outcomes will inform innovative competence acquisition in formal and informal learning contexts especially in the technological and creative sectors. CREANOVA is an educational research project which takes the form of a partnership or collaboration of European educational institutions in seven European countries, along with the concomitant challenges of partnership working. In investigating creative learning environments, CREANOVA is looking at new forms of learning, involving ICTs and virtual communities. In fact, the CREANOVA partners are a community in which much of the research and communication is conducted virtually. The CREANOVA partners are not just engaging in a virtual community of practice but also in a virtual community of learning. Therefore the partners are not only conducting the research but are, in effect, engaged in action research, experiencing a new form of learning for themselves. In considering the issues surrounding partnership, the authors became aware of parallels with issues surrounding virtual communities of learning and further explored these parallels by critically examining key indicators or critical success factors of successful partnerships along with potential challenges of such partnerships. From this exploration it became apparent that both opportunities and pitfalls exist in the context of partnership and the success of a project like CREANOVA can rest on the willingness not only to share examples of good practice being developed but also to share the challenges experience, to place trust in partners and to maintain clear, open lines of communication. Having critically examined success factors and challenges in respect of partnerships within a research project such as CREANOVA this paper considers success factors and challenges in respect of new forms of learning such as virtual communities, such as the CREANOVA Moodle. The critical examination of the latter complements the former and such an approach may be one way to look at the educational research: educational practice nexus. The partners are at an early stage of CREANOVA but already have found that they are bridging the educational research and practice divide since the different cultural backgrounds and experiences of the partnership have led to an appreciation of the potential challenges faced at the start-up and development of new forms of learning such as virtual communities of learning. It is anticipated that the final outcome and deliverables of the project will enrich knowledge because of the lived-through nature of these challenges.